By Ashwin Rajagopalan
Flagship killer. That might have been a phrase that OnePlus made its own, but it’s the one we don’t hear as part of its brand speak anymore. Last year, the company’s OnePlus 6 blazed sales charts and it wasn’t just speed that kept the cash registers ringing. OnePlus stepped up its design game, switching to a premium glass finish and launched a slew of stunning colours. It helped the brand widen its appeal among premium audiences. The brand’s 2019 flagship –the OnePlus 7 Pro, takes it a few notches higher and also moves the brand into a new price territory.
Let’s get the internals out of the way. This is the part we know OnePlus always aces. The top- end variant gets a 12GB RAM, probably more than your laptop. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s brand-new Snapdragon 855 Processor, which blazed through all our speed tests. The 7 Pro is a gorgeous looking device, we tested the Nebula Blue variant, that looks stunning under any light. It’s the display that is 7 Pro’s biggest draw. Along with Samsung Galaxy S10+ this is one of the displays to beat in 2019. The 6.67-inch display packs a whopping 516 Pixels per inch (1440 x 3120 pixels / 19.5:9 aspect ratio). There’s no notch, this one’s all screen, with a screen: body ratio of 93 per cent. It’s a heavy device though – over 200 gms, which might not work for all users.
OnePlus also ups its camera game, it’s critical to its success as it takes on pricey flagships in the big league. The triple rear cam blends a 48MP primary lens (f/1.6) with a 16MP ultra-wide lens and an 8MP telephoto lens. The wide-angle lens (117-degree field of view) is a great feature to have, while lowlight photography (thanks to OnePlus’ proprietary Night Scape solution) improves over last year’s OnePlus 6 and 6T. And yet this is an area where thesimilarly priced Google Pixel 3a XL has an edge. OnePlus takes the pop-up route for its selfie cam that stretches the display. The 16MP front cam shoots sharp selfies.
OnePlus devices have never offered wireless charging or featured a water-proof form factor. The 7Pro doesn’t change that. While water resistance may not be a deal breaker for most users, wireless charging is a great feature to have in 2019. You won’t be reaching out for OnePlus’ dash charger too frequently. One of the reasons for the device’s heft is its large 4000 mAh battery that comfortably lasted over a day in our tests. It’s one more reason why the OnePlus 7 Pro is a compelling proposition aside from its stellar display, solid camera and form factor.
The OnePlus 7 Pro is available in three variants for Rs48,999 (6GB/128GB), Rs52,999 (8GB/256GB) and Rs57,999 (12GB/256GB).
